Air-conditioning system.



L. M. DU COMMUN.

AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. s, 191s.

' farla e Louis in. Vmi commun, or cnnvE- a-coarmoaine SYSTEM.

'Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. iid, 119115..

Application led March 3, 1913. -Serial No. 751,704.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that MUN, a citizen of the 'United States of America, residing at Cleveland, in the county of and which will thoroughly purify the Vair vand at the same time supply to the air the proper amount of moisture, so that the air will have vthe requisite degree of humidity according to the need of the place in which the system is installed.

A further object of my invention is to provide a system of this kind which can be cheaply installed. positively regulated and easily cleaned and kept in a sanitary condr tion.

My invention, therefore, consists in the features of construction 'and combination and arrangement of parts, the preferred Iform of which ris illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described jin the specification and pointed out in the claims.

fn the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical section through a 'room Vprovided with my airconditioning system. Fig. 2 is an Ienlarged detail view showing the water troughs and the arrangement of the water supply pipes.

Again referring lto 'the drawings 10 represents the vfloor of a room, which may be a public-hall, a work-shop or a Adrying-room of a factory. 11 and 12 represent the outer side walls and 13 represents 'the ceiling. `Within the room vand `acljacent Ito this side walls 11 and 12 and spaced a predetermined distance therefrom are arranged partitions or 'false walls, shown vat 14 and 15, and a top :partition or false ceiling, shown at 16, said ltop partition 16 being spaced a predetermined distance from the ceiling 13 of ythe room. There is, therefore, formed vat one Aside of the room `vproper an air space, indicated at 20, which for convenience we will term ythe air-ue, and at the opposite I, Louis M. DU CoM- and drying rooms,

the full length of and -has a width trough.

'troughs in the chamber.

the uppermost side of the room an air-space, indicated at 21, which we'shall term the purifying chamber, and at the top of the room an air-space, indicated at 22, which communicates with both the flue and the purifying chamber, and which we shall simply designate as a passageway. Near the bottom of the Hue 20 are preferably arranged heating-coils 24, and belowthe said coils in the outer wall of the room are formed air-inlet openings, indicated at 25, the object of which is to permit the entrance of fresh-air from outside of the room into the flue 20. Any suitable arrangement or hood 26 may be provided around the said opening `25 to protect said opening and provide means for regulatingl the admission of air through said opening. ln the inner wall 111 which forms the inner wall of said flue 20 are formed `a number of openings'27, one seriesv of said openings being arranged near the floor of the room and the other series ofsaid openings being arranged a predetermined distance above the lower openings, according to the height of the room. ln ythe purifying chamber 21 are arranged a series of water troughs,-shown at 80, which yare supported in any `suitable. manner. Each trough extends practically the Apurifying chamber somewhat less than the width of the said chamber. These troughs 30 are Vmounted one above the other and are spaced ya short distance apart vertically and are arranged '1n-a staggered formation, the alternate troughs, starting from the topniost trough, being arranged close to the outer lwall of :the chamber and the other `troughs being arranged close 'to the inner wall of the chamber. This arrangement completely cuts oft' any circulation of air between the walls and the troughs adjacent thereto, the only passageway for the air being formed by the vertical spaces between the troughs and the spaces 7between 'each trough and the wall of the chamber farthest from the It will therefore be seen that the air passing down through the said chamber must follow a sinuous course which carries it alternately from side to side of the chainiber and as it vpasses from side to side 1t passes over the top of a trough so that when it reaches the bottom of the air chambers it has been carried over the top of all the A water supply' pipe-31 'is provided which communicates with trough. A vertical drain pipe 32 is arranged near one end of said purifying chamber and this pipe 32 is connected by means of branches 33 with the bottom of each trough, and each of the said branches 33 is provided with a valve 34. Each of the troughs 30, starting at the top, is connected with the next lowermost trough by means of an overflow pipe 34a which communicates with the upper edge of the uppermost trough, and the bottom trough is connected by an overflow pipe 35 with the drain pipe 32.

lVhile my invention can be successfully applied wherever it is necessary to condition or purify the air in a building or room it is particularly adapted for use in factories or work-shops where volatile liquids or materials are employed, such as benzin, turpentine and acids, and where considerable smoke or fumes are generated. My description. of the operation will therefore have particular reference to such cases.

The water troughs are filled with water or other suitable liquid through the pipe system already described and the valves 34 in the branch drain pipes 33 are closed so as to retain the water in said troughs. The air in Contact with the heating coils will be raised in temperature and will pass up through the flue 20 drawing in the foul air from the room-and also some fresh air from outside. or through the passageway 22 1at the top of the room and enter the purifying chamber. As soon as the air strikes the first trough filled with water the temperature of the air will be lowered and the air will therefore slnk rapidly through the purifying chamber. As the air passes through the purifying chamber it must traverse the surface of the water in the various troughs and being thus forced into intimate vcontact with the water all the impurities carried by the air will be absorbed therefrom and left on the surface of the water. Water is constantly supplied through the pipe 31 to the uppermost trough from which the water overflows into the next lower trough and so down through the whole series oftroughs, carrylng away any scum or dirt from the surface of the water in the trough, and a clean surface of water is therefore continually presented to the air. It will be understood that as the air passes over the troughs it will, of course, pick up a certain amount of moisture so that when the air again renters the room through the opening at the bottom of the chamber 21 the air will not only have been purified but will also have the proper degree of humidity necessary for the comfort and health of the occupants of the room. It will be further noted that by being able to supply any degree of humidity to the air I am able to apply my system very successfully to drying-rooms of paint-shops, and the like, for

The air will then travel across' as is known to those conversant with the art, the quickest and best results, in the drying of all materials containing volatile oils and the like, are obtained when a certain amount of humidity prevails in the air of the drying-room, as the moisture in the air prevents an outer crust from being formed on the paint before the innermost portion has becomeoxidized or dried.

That I claim is 1. In an air-conditioning system, the combination with a room or other inclosed space of a vertically arranged flue, said flue communicating at its lower end with the interior of the room, a purifying chamber, a passageway connecting the upper end of said fiue with the upper end of the purifying chamber, a series of vertically spaced water troughs arranged in said purifying chamber, the lower end of said purifying chamber being arranged in communication with the interior of said room and means arranged in said flue for heating the air in said flue to produce an upward movement of air through said flue.

2. In an air-conditioning system, the com- -bination'with a room or other inclosed space of a vertically arranged flue communicating at its lower end with the interior of said room, a purifying chamber arranged to communicate at its lower end with the interior of said room, a passageway connecting the4 upper end of said flue with the upper end of the purifying chamber, a series of superimposed and vertically spaced water troughs arranged in said purifying chamber, the

alternate troughs beginning at the upper opposite wall of the purifying chamber, said troughs overlapping at the center of said chamber and means for producing a circulation of warm air upwardly through said flue through the connecting passageway and down through the purifying chamber and into the room. v

3. In an air-conditioning system, the combination with a room or other inclosed space, of a iue communicating 'at its lower end with the outer air, a purifying chamber arranged to communicate with the interior of the room at its lower end, a passageway connecting the upper end of said flue with the upper end of the purifying chamber, a series of superimposed and vertically spaced water-troughs arranged in said purifying chamber, the alternate troughs beginning at the upper end of the purifying chamber being arranged in proximity to one wall of the purifying chamber and the other troughs being arranged in close proximity to the opposite wall of the said purifying chamber, said troughs overlapping at the center of said chamber, means for supplying water to the uppermost trough, overflow pipes connecting each trough with the next lower trough, means for separately draining each trough and means arranged at the lower end of said flue for heating the air and producing a circulation of air upwardly through said flue, through the connecting passageway, down through the purifying chamber and into the room.

4. In an air-conditioning system, the combination with a room or other inclosed space, of a vertically arranged flue located at one side of said room, said Hue communicating both with the outer air and the interior of said room, a purifying chamber arranged at the opposite side of said room, a passageway connecting the upper end of said flue with the upper end of the purifying chamber and the lower end of said purifying chamber communicating directly with the interior of the room, a series of superimposed and vertically spaced water-troughs arranged in said purifying chamber, the alternate troughs beginning at the upper end of the purifying chamber being arranged in proximity to one wall of the purifying chamber and the other trough being arranged in close proximity to the other wall of the purifying chamber, means for supplying water to the uppermost trough, overiow pipes connecting each trough with the next lower trough, means for separately draining each trough and means for producing acirculation of air upwardly through said Hue through the connecting passageway down through the purifying chamber and into the room. f

5. In an air-conditioning system, the combination with a room or other inclosed space, of a purifying chamber communicating at both endswith the interior of said room, a series of superimposed vertically spaced Water troughs arranged in said purifying chamber, the alternate troughs beginning at one end of thepurifying chamber being arranged in close proximity to one wall of the purifying chamber and the other troughs being arranged in close proximity to the opposite wall of the purifying chamber, said troughs overlapping at the center of the said chamber and means for producing a circulation of air from the room through the purifying chamber and back into the room again.

In testimony whereof, l sign the foregoing specification, in the presence of two witnesses,

LOUIS M. DUCMMU. Witnesses:

VICTOR C. LYNCH, N, L. MoDoNNELL. 

